During the month of August, Modern Market is offering MINT members 20% off! Stop by MINT Downtown on August 16th from 5:15-6:45pm where they will be giving out food samples.

 

There are a lot of contemporary variations of Barre classes, but most all styles you’ll find today have their roots in Lotte Berk Method. But who was Lotte Berk, and what’s the story there?

Lotte Berk was born in Cologne, Germany in 1913 and trained in ballet and modern dance in her youth. By the age of 18, she was dancing professionally, and she performed with prominent German companies up until the 1930s when the rise of Nazism forced her to flee the country with her husband and young daughter. The family settled in England, but while she tried to pick up her dance career, she found her contemporary style was not appreciated by the British at that time. She found work as an artist’s model, but ultimately knew she would have to make a career change. With the help of an osteopath, she developed an exercise method based on her dance training that combined principles of ballet with rehabilitative therapy. The method focuses on isolating specific muscle groups and combines both strength and flexibility training. In 1959, the 46-year-old Berk opened the Manchester Street Studio for Exercise, a studio that was exclusively for women. And while you might imagine a ladies exercise studio in England at that time to be somewhat prim and proper, a few of the original exercises in the method had some decidedly improper names, such as “the Prostitute”, “the Peeing Dog” and “the French Lavatory.” In 1971, her student Lydia Bach brought the method to the United States, and the rest is Barre history.

If you’ve been curious about Barre, just try it! One of the best things about a MINT membership that includes classes is that you can jump into a studio-quality Barre class without paying any additional fees. And while all of our Barre classes at MINT are appropriate for all levels and welcome both women and men (yes, guys can do Barre too!), we’ll be offering a new Barre Basics class designed for beginners to get a full 50-minute Barre experience in a small-class environment. These will be offered on Sundays in September at 1:30 PM at MINT Dupont, and attendance will be capped at 8 participants, so make sure to sign up in advance!

Mark your calendars! Our community partner, Mellow Mushroom, will be hosting a happy hour for Mint members on August 22nd from 5-7PM! After your workout head on over for delicious food and drink specials: 1/2 off wings, $3 cheese bread, $4 bruschetta, $5 house wines/liquors and $2 off drafts!

RSVP here

A friend of mine lives on diet soda. And I mean lives on it. I don’t think I’ve ever seen this friend drink a glass of plain water and it pains me to think how the artificial stuff she is dumping into her body is impacting her health.

Whether you drink soda (or “pop,” depending on which part of the country you’re in) on the reg or just as a “treat” and whether you drink fully-sugared or “just” options with artificial sweeteners, here are a few things to consider before you next choose soda over any other option:

1) Extra sugar can lower your HDL cholesterol (that’s the good kind).
2) NUMEROUS studies have linked sugary drinks with obesity and Type 2 diabetes. You know this. All of New York knows this.
3) Artificial sweeteners can increase your risk of diabetes, too.
4) Studies suggest that diet soda does NOT promote weight loss and does NOT lower the calories you take in.
5) A recent study linked diet soda to an increased risk of dementia and stroke. Yes, I know the results are complicated and an absolutely 100% clear link hasn’t been established yet. But stroke and dementia? Why take the risk?
6) Artificial sweeteners impact how your body responds to other food and sweeteners. (You didn’t think we could just dump chemicals down our gullets without any impact, did you?)
7) You may not think about your skeleton very often, but your bones are important if you want to keep moving – and drinking soda is bad for your bones.

You only get one body. Why not treat it right?

MINT Gear Contest

We think it’s finally time to announce what our #MintAdventures2017 prize is! Everyday through August we will award a FREE personal training session to the lucky winner who has the most creative photo. It’s a great way to keep up with that summer body! Our trainers ensure that each session is tailored exactly for your specific health and fitness goals. How do you enter to win? Tag us in your vacation (yes, staycations count too!) photos while wearing Minty gear. Make sure you use the hashtag #MintAdventures2017 . Don’t have any Mint gear? No problem! You can purchase t-shirts, tanks, and hats at either location. We can’t wait to see your photos!

Instructor Feature

Kendal Ann Miller
I’m here for you! I will motivate you, encourage you and give you to meet your goals.

Teaching Style
Beat-based, intense, encouraging all while singing along and getting a good sweat!

Songs We’ll Ride To
Wow- Beck; Dangerous, Oliver Remix- Big Data and Oliver; No Promises- Cheat Codes; Let’s Go- Calvin Harris; SexyBack- Justin Timberlake

Ori Korin
I teach a rhythm ride, so in my class, we ride to that beat! But don’t worry, there’s no experience or slick dance moves — i ask my riders to focus on form, positive attitudes, and riding together as a team, with the goal of getting a little bit stronger every class. We’ll work in some push-ups, crunches and tap backs, but i promise a full body workout and a couple extremely lame jokes, too! My song selections range from dance pop, to remixed country, to rap mash-ups to classic rock — i get the best stuff from my riders! i truly think you can ride to anything, as long as you come ready to work. I’ve also never met a carly rae jepsen song i didn’t like. but a few of my favorite songs this month are:

• holychild, “running behind”
• emeli sande and the wild, “highs and lows – the wild remix”
• sevyn streeter, “how bad do you want it?”
• kodak black, “tunnel vision”
• sam hunt, “body like a back road – mr. collipark remix”

Lizzie Stodolski
I think the most important element in a class is variety, and surprise. For many of us, its hard to sit down for 45 minutes and do straight cardio, so I switch up my drills with different strength, speed, choreography, and little surprise challenges to keep things interesting.

I personally don’t respond well to intimidation, so I mainly stick to words of encouragement to keep you motivated (although occasionally I may put the pressure on). I load my class up with form cues to make sure that everyone is super safe, getting the maximum power from each pedal stroke, and ultimately more miles every time. I want you to leave in a great mood, feeling like you learned something new.

Music Selection: expect a variety of electronic- remixes of your favorite songs as well as deep, heavy bass to match your intensity

https://open.spotify.com/track/6PjitpdnGluMNLv0VeCVe5 Raindrops- SNBRN
https://open.spotify.com/track/0hDDXaxqAkxqKlmk53yhvZ Dem a Pree- Raumakustik (Patrick Topping Remix)
https://open.spotify.com/track/4rqXv1KKcTKa3d8nvPJd9z Wild Things- Alessia Cara (Young Bombs Remix)

Maggie Dallas
How I run a class: When you come to my class, you can expect 45 minutes of work! I suggest each rider choose a baseline resistance level somewhere between 7-10; we go up from there, back to baseline, but never lower. It’s not all about heavy resistance-it’s about keeping the ‘work’ in working-recovery. I tend to include longer sets with a focus on building strength and endurance. Once every quarter- we put our fitness to the test with a race-day style ride a.k.a. the ‘mile challenge.’

My music: It’s all about the mashups, baby. I ride to fast beats and heavy bass. Last song of class, every class: Proud Mary (the classic version). I’m paraphrasing here, but: the beginning is easy, and the end is rough, that’s the way we do.

Nikki Mueller
Music selection: I like to mix workout classics like Laura Branigan’s “Gloria” with new stuff like Sir the Baptist. I like a strong beat, and I find a little disco/funk keep the energy up and the pedal strokes smooth. A good playlist can take you on a journey: Remind you of old favorites, introduce you to new music, help you focus on the work you’re doing, or take your mind off your normal 9-5 grind. I’m always looking for student suggestions and recommendations. You can find me on Spotify @NicoletteMueller

About my class: I like to pick a working theme for a class – might be improving speed, managing big changes in resistance and cadence, or working on sustained effort and endurance. The playlist and order of drills ideally work together to give riders the chance to practice and perfect their technique, and to form a stronger mind-body connection. My goal is for everyone to walk out of class feeling like they did amazing work in class, and even better prepared for their next ride in or out of the studio.

Chealsea Souza
Come prepared to sweat a lot and work hard in Chelsea’s classes with a mix of intervals and choreography to keep things interesting. She is all about resistance to create a balance between strength and cardio and to get your heart rate up. She hopes students leave class feeling empowered, stronger, and one step closer to their personal fitness goals. A pop princess at heart, you can expect new remixes of your favorite hits plus some throwback hip-hop for good measure. Check out her classes on Tuesday 6:15AM Dupont (Intervals Express) and Thursday 6:30PM Downtown (Rhythm Ride).

Music examples:

• Cut to the Feeling- Carly Rae Jepsen
• Schoolin’ Life- Beyonce
• Your Love is My Drug- Kesha
• Slow Motion – Juvenile

Adam Ungson
I think of my class in terms of short and long intervals. Before each song I suggest a range of resistance and rpm numbers for the riders and describe how hard they should be working, muscles they should be engaging, and how long they will be working for. I usually tell people that 13-15 miles is a good goal for a 45 minute class on these bikes.

I follow the progression of each song and match it with sprints, hills, jogs, climbs, jumps, etc. It’s importation to mix it up the format and hop off the bike at times to keep riders motivated. I always start class in the saddle as a warm up so riders can get a feel for the bike and resistance, then go into a job, spring, and climb – I end class with longer intervals with shorter recovery! Finally, I love to incorporate tapbacks here and there, which helps riders connect with the music and feel motivated for those difficult intervals.

– A few examples of your music selection to showcase the type of music people will be riding to

Here is a link to a soundcloud playlist: https://soundcloud.com/amigo06/sets/mint-gym

Piper Hendricks
Piper loves the fact that DC is full of smart, talented and dedicated people, but recognizes that many of you have grueling jobs that can be taxing on both your mind and, as you hunch over a computer keyboard much of the day, your body. Piper wants you to leave every class you take with her feeling stronger and happier than when you came in. She structures every class with opportunities to get out of your physical comfort zone and safely push yourself beyond where you think you can go. With those physical challenges, she aims to sharpen your mind as well, whether with an inspirational quote, nutritional information, nerdy research that provides some food for thought or a weekly challenge, should you choose to accept it… She aim to keep it fresh with funny themes and teaching “outside the box,” including things like Tech-No (a tech detox) Ride class and Karate Kid and Under the Sea Barre classes. She is ALWAYS open to suggestions, so let her know if there’s a wellness topic you’d like researched, a national day you’d like to celebrate or a theme you’d like to see in class, including her brand new Barre|Ride classes on Sundays at 5 pm!

Piper loves dance and pop and aims to include at least one local DC artist in every class, such as Billy Winn, Heather Mae, The Cowards Choir, Two Dragons and a Cheetah, Drive TFC, and more. She’s known to throw in some classic 80s now and then, with music ranging from Aztec Sun to Zedd.